A Geography of Reading

"It is by reading novels, stories, and myths that we come to understand the world in which we live." -Orhan Pamuk

Deconstructing Plot with Alan Brenham’s Price of Justice

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Aristotle would have loved detective novels. He considered a fine-tuned plot more important than characterization. Gustav Freytag, father of the dramatic pyramid would also appreciate the way most modern detective novels make use of his five-part model (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement). Because I write literary fiction, plot is something I sometimes fail at, so I looked closely at Price of Justice by Alan Brenham to see what I could learn.

Exposition

To start a good book, the writer must clue the reader in to what is happening. As this ground situation is set, every detail that will be important throughout the rest of the book is introduced. And like Chekhov’s gun (the idea that a gun introduced in the first act must go off) all the details that are introduced should be important.

Price of Justice is told from two main points of view, Detective Scarsdale’s and Dani Mueller’s. Both have good reason to hate sex offenders. Scarsdale is recovering from losing a case against one and Mueller has a dark secret involving the man who raped and killed her daughter. Brenham expertly outlines the character’s conflicts and all the details readers need to know to navigate the twists and turns of the tightly-woven plot.

Rising Action

Once the reader gets his or her bearings in the fictional world, it’s time to add in complicating details and plot points. And Brenham escalates the action with all kinds of increasingly tense plot complications. These incidents (ranging from workplace politics to a break-in) are closely related to the ground situation. They add richness to the world while propelling the reader through the story.

Climax

This is the point in Freytag’s pyramid where the tension is supposed to be at its height. Although the details add up nicely, Chekhov’s gun goes off, and Brenham does a good job of keeping the story on theme, by the time the climax finally rolled around, I was more than ready for it. There had been so much heavy action leading up to this moment that I wanted even more from the big moment. Instead the climax felt a bit too easy.

Falling Action and Dénouement

Price of Justice is a modern novel, and as such it doesn’t have much action after the climax. Brenham intentionally leaves a few questions unanswered, but the ending is satisfactory.

Characterization

Detective novels on the whole are something I very much enjoy reading for fun. But they often lack the character development that I love. I appreciated that Brenham created more complexity than average in Dani Mueller’s background. Her motivations were unflinchingly straightforward, but the unusual nature of her background allowed for some unexpected turns as the plot unfolded.

Price of Justice is set in Austin, TX, a city I know and love, and I enjoyed how Brenham also used the city as a character.

What I learned from looking closely at the plotting of this book is that it is possible to write much more tension into a book than I usually feel comfortable doing. I need to realize that when I feel anxious writing something, that is not a reason to flinch. Instead it is a reason to follow that feeling and see what I can do to deepen the reader’s experience. I will likely always be a literary writer—mucking around in my character’s psyches instead of their actions, but that’s no excuse for letting the tension in my books lag.

If this review made you want to read the book, pick up a copy of Price of Justice from Bookshop.org. Your purchase keeps indie booksellers in business and I receive a commission.

The Audacity of Obama’s Hope

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Four years ago, the United States elected a different kind of president. We chose a man who asked intelligent questions instead of giving us pat answers. We selected someone who asked us to live up to our responsibilities instead of telling us how the world had wronged us. Did we stretch too far? Tomorrow’s election (and the likely delayed results) will provide an answer about our tolerance for growth and big changes.

This weekend I read The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama to do my own gut-check.

On the Stump

The Audacity of Hope often reads like one of Obama’s stump speeches. What that tells me, though, is rather than being overly rehearsed and regurgitated, Obama’s thoughts are deeply held and personal. When he talks about the “common set of values that bind us together despite our differences,” I believe he believes what he is saying and that “we are becoming more, not less, alike.”

Because Obama’s method of speech and writing are deliberative and broad, I can see where the electorate has grown impatient. It’s a shameful fact that we beg to be spoon-fed information. How we came to be this way is something else Obama explores intelligently and in-depth. Even if he refuses to pander to it—something that may be his downfall.

Generation of Broken Promises

This is a phrase that Obama used when talking about the inner city and what life is like for people who live there. But it applies to America at large. We have hungered for so long to have things get better that we’ll grasp at any easy solution—even if it’s the wrong one. Like Mitt Romney telling us he has a plan to fix our economy—a plan he won’t reveal.

My husband wrote to me, “I survived eight years of Bush.” And that’s what it was. While he told us he was helping us, Bush and his cronies did everything they could to help themselves and not their constituents.

President Obama has tried to change this. On the campaign trail, “I tried my best to keep my mouth shut and hear what [my constituents] had to say.” By being open to those he was leading, he saw truths that other politicians miss, like “just how modest people’s hopes were.”

“If you are paying attention, each successive year will make you more intimately acquainted with your flaws.” — Barack Obama

I believed President Obama at the Democratic National Convention when he said there was no greater critic of his administration than he. I wish he could let us into that evaluation process a little so we could see the changes he plans to make. I believe in his values and know he will make the right decision. But our trust has been so abused by others that it’s hard for many Americans to know where to turn and I’m afraid Romney looks like the easy answer.

Fixing a Broken System

“In the world’s greatest deliberative body, no one is listening.” — Barack Obama regarding the Senate

One of my greatest frustrations with the past four years has been President’ Obama’s inability to change Washington. In The Audacity of Hope, he acknowledges what a frequent desire that is among Americans. He describes many of the problems with the system and how they came to be that way. He writes about ways the system could be improved, even though he has not been able to enact them while in office. The history is deep, though, and I can see that the system is even less flexible than I had hoped.

My Vote

What I learned from reading this book is that Obama is the real deal. He believes what he writes and says. His hope is audacious enough to have faith in us and in our process. I hope we have the same faith and trust in him. We would all be better off if we lived up to his expectations. Obama understands “there is no great reward in store for those who speak the truth” and he speaks it anyway. Because it’s the right thing to do.

“If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, if we aren’t willing to make some sacrifices in order to realize them, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.” — Barack Obama

I hope when the tally comes through that we Americans had the faith in ourselves to re-elect President Obama. He has not promised us the easy road and he has not been able to deliver quick solutions, but it takes courage to make the kinds of big changes we need and leaders like President Obama don’t come around very often.

“A government that truly represents these Americans—that truly serves these Americans—will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be prepackaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we will need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.” — Barack Obama

Disagree with me? I have a post coming out tomorrow on The Restless Nest about how I feel about political discourse. I’d love to have a thoughtful conversation.

If this review made you want to read the book, pick up a copy of The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream from Bookshop.org. Your purchase keeps indie booksellers in business and I receive a commission.

Review of How to Market a Book

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If you need this book, it means you are (or will soon be) published. Congratulations on getting your work out in the world!

Set aside for a moment your depression over having to market your own book. You can always choose not to. But if you want to sell books (and maintain a good relationship with your publisher) today’s world does require you to be involved in marketing your book (and yourself). How to Market a Book is a guide by book marketers for writers new to marketing.

I don’t normally review how-to books, but I’m making an exception here because I know a lot of writers who would find this book useful.

The Dreaded Platform

Marketing can be intimidating for writers, and the rapidly changing landscape of the internet can make anyone feel out of date. How to Market a Book is written in a collegial tone and provides a good introduction to what is sometimes called “building a platform.” I know, I hate the word “platform” too and I give the authors of this book credit for using it sparingly. When I do it, I call it working on my brand—not much better but at least I can imagine myself wrapped in a pretty label (rather than standing on a soap box).

Is This the Book for You?

The strengths of How to Market a Book lie in the explanations of how and why you need to build a website and social media presence and the focus on marketing the writer rather than the book (despite this book’s title). It’s a brave undertaking to write an Internet guide because the landscape changes so fast (the Twitter profile section is already slightly, but not significantly, out of date) but authors Lori Culwell and Katherine Sears do a good job of emphasizing the tried and true methods like Twitter and Facebook while information on other avenues to explore.

How to Market a Book provides a primer for the author who is just looking up from a final draft into the chasm of the Internet, and I would have loved to have this book available when I was marketing Soul’s Road. At times the book started to feel like a list of social media platforms available, and I wish that it included a clearer triage for the author who is overwhelmed by the plethora of options (as so many authors newer to the Internet reasonably are). For example, the section on building subject matter expertise on Answers.com (and the like), while useful for nonfiction writers, could become a procrastination sinkhole for fiction authors. Statistics on return on investment would be a great addition if the Culwell and Sears decide to issue a second edition.

If you are a social media-savvy author with an active Twitter account and website, you might find some tips and tricks in this book (I flipped back and forth between the book and my own profiles to tweak them), but could be bored by explanations of how to use Facebook “as” a page.

Beyond the Internet

The book contains helpful advice on things like proofreading, editing, book design, and press releases. There is a short section on book tours (these are not the go-to they once were). And the thoughts on how (and when) to reply to a review are must-reads. Also, the tip on what to have ready for your personal author kit is invaluable.

Here’s My Advice

Because I work in marketing and spend a lot of time on social media, my friends often ask me for advice. I tell them that yes, you have to market yourself. We are in an age where people want to connect to us, the artists, and it will be much more difficult to sell books if we deny them that access. Find the avenues that feel natural to you and invest most of your efforts there. If you can’t do another social media platform well, don’t start the account. There are lots of tools available to help you manage your accounts, but don’t spend all your time looking for those tools. Read this book, set up your online presence, and then get back to writing that next book.

If this review made you want to read the book, pick up a copy of How to Market a Book from Bookshop.org. Your purchase keeps indie booksellers in business and I receive a commission.

The Rich Landscape of Writing in Outerborough Blues

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What happens when an MFA writes genre fiction? With all the flack writing programs get for producing uniform voices, you might think the two are antithetical. But when Andrew Cotto used his MFA from The New School to write Outerborough Blues he brought the skills of a trained writer to the conventions of a mystery novel.

Because this literary/genre divide is sometimes fightin’ territory for writers from both camps, let’s get a couple of things out of the way first so you know where I’m coming from.

Do you need an MFA to write well?

Of course not. Everyone’s definition of good writing is different, but I believe to write well you need careful attention to the words that are your tools. Studying for an MFA gives you time to consider those tools and the effect to which you use them, but there are loads of great non-MFA writers and some of them (Jonathan Lethem is a favorite) could be considered genre writers.

What is genre fiction anyway?

The distinction between genre fiction and literary fiction usually breaks down to plot driven versus character driven. There are all kinds of genres (mystery, fantasy, science fiction) and I really don’t like to draw too many lines, but sometimes putting a name to something lends easy description.

The richness of Outerborough Blues

I can see Cotto’s MFA in this book in some very positive ways. These are a few things I do not expect to see (but am always grateful for) in a mystery novel.

Strong characters

If I told you the catalyst of the story is the moment a beautiful woman walks into the bar where Caesar Stiles works, I would not be doing this story justice. Stiles is no Bud White (especially not the film version) and he’s got a lot more on his mind than helping this moll. His relationships with his family and the other characters in the story are multifaceted and this gives the novel depth.

Strong sense of theme

The title “Outerborough Blues” has a subtle musical element that could be fleshed out or it could be left unexplored. Cotto develops the musical theme with “Slow, flowing progressions in a melancholy key” in two notable ways. One is the way the narrator overlays the sounds of the neighborhood with the music on his stereo. The second is the way the stories about his past relationships build like verses of a song.

Evocative sentences

A writer with control over his or her tools has the ability to set a scene with a very few words. Here are some of Cotto’s sentences that do just that:

  • “The lady in the liquor store sold me a fifth of whiskey and the landlord’s name without taking her eyes off the book she was reading.”
  • “My boot pulverized broken vials on the cracked sidewalk.”
  • One character describes the evolution of the neighborhood as “Milk and honey turned to malt liquor.”

Layered stories

Outerborough Blues tell several stories at once. This could be cacophonous, but Cotto gently layers the tales of family relationships, gentrification, and the mystery at hand that they become as inextricably linked as any real life. As the aspects of the story unfold over the reader, you are exposed to more and more aspects of the story and the community it takes place in. All in 200 pages.

Is there really a difference between genre and literary fiction?

Cotto reinforced for me something I learned while studying for my MFA at Goddard College (one of the MFA programs which prides itself on welcoming genre writers): good writing is not at all limited by genre. Some people want really well described characters. Some want fast, tight plots in rich worlds. Good writing happens in both camps and great writing blurs the lines between them. Cotto has done just that.

If this review made you want to read the book, pick up a copy of Outerborough Blues from Bookshop.org. Your purchase keeps indie booksellers in business and I receive a commission.

Sex and Death in the American Novel

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sex and death in the american novel - sarah martinez

I’ve been thinking a lot about bravery this week and about commitment to one’s art. It all started at the book launch party for Sex and Death in the American Novel. The book’s author, Sarah Martinez, had invited Maureen O’Donnell to perform a belly dance to the music of Marilyn Manson that had inspired Martinez while writing her novel. I thought it was going to be ridiculous. But then I watched O’Donnell dance. By committing fully to the dance and her character, she transformed from a tiny Goth girl with plastic horns into an arachnoid creature who kept the audience rapt.

The Artist’s Way

Sex and Death in the American Novel speaks to the myriad ways we come to and commit to our art and ultimately ourselves. Jasper is the wunderkind who was swept into the accepting arms of the writing world and never stopped for a moment to reflect. Tristan is the writer who could never get past his struggles. And Vivi did everything she could to avoid becoming a “Writer” only to find she had done just that. In Vivi’s case, all that she lacked was the acceptance of herself and of her gift.

Every artist I know is on a different path to the greatness within. None of them will achieve lasting fulfillment without that self-acceptance.

Martinez’s greatest success is disentangling the complex fabric of emotions each character is feeling. She understands the push-pull of shame and desire in art and love, and her characters strive to create the relationships that are right for them regardless of societal norms. And of course those norms are also what artists have to question and redefine on their way to personal greatness.

Explicit Content Ahead

The book follows Vivi’s struggle to be as strong and fulfilled as she can, and at times she seeks that fulfillment in sex. Martinez is not shy about describing those sexual encounters and she explores a wider range of erotic possibilities than many people will encounter in life.

One of the things I admired about this book is how Martinez conveyed both the physical and emotional complexities of a ménage à trois. She enticingly wrote the encounters between her characters so that the reader is able to experience—in vivid detail—even the most unfamiliar acts right along with Vivi. The play-by-play narration which can be too much in scenes of daily life lends itself perfectly to introducing the reader to a new world of possibilities.

Anyone who reads Fifty Shades of Grey and finds it misogynistic might enjoy the sex positive attitude in Sex and Death in the American Novel instead.

On Writing About (and Becoming) a Fulfilled Woman

I’ve been reading a lot about women and sexuality as I work on my next novel. A.S. Byatt taught me to love my body. Dorothy Allison helped me question my relationship with Feminism. And Slavenka Drakulić revealed for me new depths in the relationship between mother and daughter. In Sex and Death in the American Novel, Sarah Martinez showed me how to write fearlessly about subjects that terrify me. Each of these authors is giving me strength as I commit to writing the next book as bravely as I can.